Greetings from a Cheese Head!!!

Hello everyone! Wanted to take minute to introduce myself. My name is Dale and I am about as green as you can get with in regards to sim-pit building. I have spent the last 2.5 months reading everything I can find online in regards to this hobby. I am currently in the process of obtaining my Private Pilot's certificate and would LOVE to be able to hone my skills as well as get my young son (and even younger daughter) hooked on the flying and maybe be able to use my pit for some 'ground-school' training.

I was actually naive enough to think I was breaking ground with wanting my own llittle 'cockpit' at home and then I googled... I am now EMBARASSED by how naive I truly was was. I can't say enough how overwhelmed and in awe I am of the cockpits I have seen on this forum. The level of skill and dedication you each have is amazing and I am very humbled, yet extremely EAGER to get started on my own project.

I am very sound with computer hardware, networking, software, as well as basic electrical knowledge. I am SEVERELY lacking in my knowledge of CAD-drawing, CNC work, as well as PCB construction, so I hope you will all forgive me if I get t asking some 'basic' questions as I get started.

I am hoping to get a Cessna172 pit together very soon and am in the process of getting some basics together (some instruments, etc...)

Thanks for allowing me to ramble and I look forward to getting to know all of you better in the near future!!!

Dale (BIGLDH)

Welcome. I am your neighbor to the west (Mini-Soda)..so will help in whatever capacity, and would love to collaborate on some of the ideas. I am in the process of acquiring pieces for my own project, albeit a slightly less "modest" form (DC-9-30/50). The forum has been a great source of info, and while I've not posted much, I've read a LOT and learned a large extent from this. I actually spent a fair bit of time in Wisconsin (Sparta/Tomah area), so I'm actually familiar with Marshfield...scary huh?

Starting with a C172 is probably a MUCH smarter idea, as I had the challenge of choosing not only a larger cockpit, but also one that few people cared about (MD-80). Fortunately, a buddy of mine is developing the ancestral bird, and thus I can do the DC-9-50 which doesn't have the nifty electronic "pseudo CDU" and the more DIFFICULT to model electronics, so I'm in the process of converting to the aircraft that I WANTED to do in the beginning but didn't have an appropriate flight model.

Chaser,

Well, Hidy-Ho there good neighbor! Nice to know there's someone within driving distance away that has gone through (or currently going through) the pains and learning curve I am :o) After posting my intro, I executed a cardinal sin and started looking at another cockpit... lol ALthough I would LOVE (In another lifetime) to undertake the 737NG pit, I am looking into the 182 now. Looking from a standpoint of being able to integrate TFT's or LCD monitors for the G1000 panels... Wondering if this might be less labor intensive than having to go with a host of 'analog' gauges and the traditional NAV / COM stack... Too many amazing projects out there and me having the kid with the Christmas catalog mentality all add up to WAY too much thinking and possibly OVER thinking... lol Regardless, it's good to hear from a neighbor (even if you MAY be a...er... Vokings fan... lol) Looking forward to more chats!

Go with what you WANT to do. I went through and actually went the opposite way and started with a hybrid analog/digital gauge, but had wanted to GO all analog because the bulk of the gauges can be modified to work in the sim without major issues. There is a gentleman in England I think that is actually taking steam gauges and doing all the work on them, and likewise Flight Illusion does a very similar thing as well.

My recommendation is pick your project, then sit down and plan extensively on what would need to be accomplished, but then also try to resource who can help if you can't. One of the obstacles that I had with the MD-80 was the addition of Digital Flight Guidance Computers and Flight Mode Annunciators that were computerized. I hadn't initially realized that the FMAs were actually 14 segment LEDs, and that finding those for computers is very difficult. Additionally, the MD-80 has a Performance Management System, which is somewhat like a primitive CDU, but there is nobody that has done "logic software" for it, so it would have to be a fancy keyboard emulator for the one in scene. Additionally, some of the gauges that were digital would be very challenging to replicate because of the restrictions set in place by the gauges. Some I had found workarounds on, others were much more challenging.

It isn't that the project cannot be done, but it is critical that you think about the whole step and try to do a moderate bit of research if you aren't extremely familiar with the pit. The fact of the matter is, if it is an aircraft you love, then the project will be fun, and the challenges will be exciting. Otherwise, it gets to be like doing housework.

I'd love to sit down and visit with you to the side about some ideas. We are moving to a new house, and part of the requirements for me was that I had one room that was dedicated to "my baby bird", and now that we've found it and are hopefully closing in June, I am just hoping to do some final parts acquisition and then will work on the construction of floor plans and framework. I'm better at THAT aspect than I am at the computerized parts so perhaps we can work to some degree together on that.

Additionally, you are always welcome to ask questions on what a bigger project offers as far as rewards/challenges, and see some of the issues that I've had to make your own decisions.

And also, no worries....not a Viking's fan. I was at one point, but when a coaching staff and medical observers are too thick to consider heat stroke on ANY player, much less a star (Stringer)...and then will repeatedly hire back a worthless dirtbag like they have (Moss)...it's painful to even watch. It is going to be a bad year for me. My first pick is Indianapolis for professional (loved the way they conducted themselves during their Super Bowl season), and my college pick is Ohio State University. I'm not expecting much from either of them this year...
Jon